Dammeier strengthens his lead for Pierce County executive

The vote total continued to lean in Pierce County executive candidate Bruce Dammeier’s favor Wednesday evening after the latest round of ballot returns were released.

The Puyallup Republican strengthened his lead over Tacoma Democrat Rick Talbert, who now is trailing Dammeier by nearly 8,000 votes for the county’s top elected position.

In the races for County Council, Democrat Carolyn Edmonds saw new counts weaken her lead over Republican state Sen. Pam Roach for the seat vacated by Joyce McDonald, who was term-limited. Edmonds slipped from a 902-vote advantage Tuesday night to a 400-vote lead Wednesday.

Council Chairman Doug Richardson, R-Lakewood, expected Wednesday’s morning release to bolster his lead over Democratic challenger Linda Farmer, also of Lakewood. The latest counts gave him a minimal bump with a lead of 437 votes.